Vladimir Putin is determined to further enlarge Russia, and he sees Donald Trump’s plan to buy Greenland or take it by other means as a way to whitewash Putin’s attempted conquest of Ukraine, as well as his potential future endeavors.
Russian state TV’s talking heads, many of whom see Trump as a potential savior who is going to lift sanctions, are taking it a step further, and speculating that Trump might willingly split Greenland with Russia.
“In recent days, events have been developing very rapidly,” State Duma member Andrey Gurulyov said in an appearance on the state TV program Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov. “We should recognize that basically, the war in the Arctic has started. We’ve been getting ready for this and strengthening our Arctic component.”
Gurulyov, a former deputy commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian military, added: “With Trump announcing his aspirations for Greenland, why don’t we look at Greenland as well? Do we need Greenland? This is not a joke. We certainly need it.”
Russia could proceed with a sham referendum, à la Crimea, to make a claim on Greenland, Gurulyov suggested. “If Trump Jr. was able to buy someone for a bowl of slop and they’re ready to join America, why don’t we show up with a few Xerox boxes filled to the brim and close this issue once and for all?” he said.
“If all else fails, we can make a deal with Trump and split Greenland in two parts,” Gurulyov added. “Clearly, Denmark will never set foot there again.”
Last Thursday, appearing on the state TV program 60 Minutes, the Americanist Malek Dudakov said, “Trump will create many problems for the Europeans, not to mention that he will unload the expenditures for the Ukrainian project upon them. Let us wish success to both sides of the conflict.”
Ironically, a 2022 report by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service accused Russia of forging a letter purporting to be from Greenland’s foreign minister to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). The letter falsely claimed, “Our government is going to overcome all legal and political barriers... and to organize the referendum on independence of Greenland from Denmark as fast as possible.” In response, the Arkansas Republican boasted of being the one to float the idea of buying Greenland to Trump.
The goal of the forged document might have been to create a rift between NATO allies, but since Trump is enamored with the idea of taking over Greenland, Moscow’s initial plot might spectacularly backfire.
Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov host Solovyov remained optimistic, since just the fact that these issues are now on the table benefits Russia, directly and indirectly. He said, “Basically, everything has collapsed. Europe is in a panic, since they used to talk about an immutable order and inviolable borders... America totally broke the rules-based world. It said that the only rules are those that the new owner of the White House considers to be rules.”
Solovyov added, “Our country is immense. This means that we will continue to have many enemies. We will make our friends ourselves. We have to win—then, everyone who is on the fence right now will suddenly become our closest friends.” Gurulyov chimed in, “Everyone follows those who are strong.”
Not all Russian pundits are so sanguine. Appearing on The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov in the end of December, writer Nikolai Starikov noted, “By stepping upon Greenland with an American boot, Trump is shoving his foot into our Arctic door... to turn the U.S. into more of an Arctic nation than they presently are. This is their plan for the future—and this bell tolls for us.”
